Vladimir Putin

President of the Russian Federation

"We have no desire to create problems for the new Ukrainian government, but to tolerate a situation in which people living in the territory of these Donetsk and Luhansk republics are generally deprived of any civil rights, this is already crossing the line from the point of view of human rights."

The Donbas area in Putin’s statement is under Russian control, according to international authorities – following Russia’s covert push to create separate “republics” Also, a Russian passport is no guarantee of civil rights.

Ramzan Kadyrov

head of Chechnya

“The U.S. claims that its armed forces are fighting terrorism and drug trafficking in that country (Afghanistan). But UN data says otherwise. Since the beginning of this year alone, around 400 civilians have died through the fault of the U.S. troops and the forces of official Kabul enlisted by them. That is significantly more than the deaths at the hands of the Taliban, to whom were attributed 227 victims.”

The latest UN report on Afghanistan shows an overall increase in civilian casualties by pro-government forces. However, attributing all the civilian deaths at the hands of pro-government forces to the U.S. military is wrong. U.S. forces are part of an international coalition of 39 nations.

After a Lithuanian court sentenced 67 former Soviet military officers for crimes against humanity in a failed January 1991 crackdown on the country’s pro-democracy drive, Russia has lashed out at the “illegal act,” although the claim fails under international law and historical circumstances.

Yury Ushakov

Russian presidential assistant

“During the last few months the situation around the Korean peninsula has somewhat stabilized, and it became possible mainly thanks to the North Korea’s initiative to renounce nuclear missile testing and the closure of a nuclear test site.”

While Yury Ushakov’s claim that North Korea declared it would renounce nuclear weapons tests and close the test site is correct, Pyongyang’s later actions cast doubt on its commitment to denuclearization as well as its role in stabilizing the situation on Korean peninsula.

Dmitry Medvedev

Russian prime minister

“Despite the sanctions, the portfolio of military orders for Russian military equipment continues to be very significant. It is now estimated at $54.5 billion. There are more than 100 countries among Russia's partners.”

Sergey Lavrov

Russia’s foreign minister

“When Montenegro and Macedonia were out of the blue dragged into NATO, the situation with Macedonia’s name was used in a brazen manner. They held a referendum organized in gross violation of the constitution, which in Macedonia requires a referendum to put forward only one question, but they put forward three: do you want to be a member of the European Union, a member of NATO, and are you ready to change the name of the country for that. In general, a fraudulent question, of course.”

The referendum on North Macedonia’s name was called according to the country's constitution. Candidates for NATO membership must apply to join the Alliance, not the other way round. Macedonia had met the criteria for NATO membership ten years before receiving an invitation.

Sergey Lavrov

Russian Foreign Minister

“The reason for the Libyan crisis lies in NATO’s actions in 2011. Precisely since that time, Libya has turned into a failed state and a ’black hole,’ through which terrorists, the smuggling of weapons, go south, and to the north - flows of illegal migrants.”

While there are varying opinions on the legality and effect of NATO’s intervention in Libya, NATO was not the cause of the crisis in Libya. NATO’s Operation Unified Protector was launched in response to a UN resolution regarding the ongoing civil war there.

Dmitry Peskov

Russian Presidential Spokesman

"Russian President Vladimir Putin has said more than once that for settling the conflict in Donbass the most important thing is not dialogue with Moscow, because Moscow is not a party to this conflict. It is an intra-Ukrainian conflict and it is up to the Ukrainians to settle it, if they talk to each other."

Ukrainian presidential hopeful Volodymyr Zelenskiy opened the door to talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war in eastern Ukraine. Putin’s spokesman said talks would be fine, although “Moscow is not a party to the conflict.” The facts show otherwise.

The ships that NATO nations are providing to the Ukrainian navy technologically are more advanced and in a better shape than most of the Soviet-made vessels in Russia’s own navy. Experts say the NATO-provided ships significantly enhance the Ukrainian navy’s capabilities.

Franz Klintsevich

Member of the Federation Council’s Committee on Defense and Security

“If you are trying to arrange a provocation, based on the idea that Crimea is not ours and without complying with international norms, you will be attempting to break through the border of the Russian Federation, all of which will be harshly suppressed, whether we are talking about Ukrainian, American or any other ships.”

Following a promise by the U.S. “to beef up” NATO’s presence in the Black Sea to ensure safe passage for Ukrainian ships traversing the Kerch Strait and Sea of Azov, a Russian senator warned any such “provocation” would be harshly suppressed. But is the Azov Sea solely Moscow’s preserve?